A court in Algeria has sentenced the 80-year-old writer Boualem Sansal to five years in prison for allegedly undermining the country’s territorial integrity. The charge is based on remarks Sansal made in an interview with a right-wing French media outlet, where he claimed that France had allocated too much land to Algeria and not enough to Morocco during the colonial period. He also stated that Western Sahara, a disputed territory, was historically part of Morocco.
During his detention, Sansal has been hospitalized for health issues. His case has garnered support from intellectuals and politicians, including the Nigerian Nobel Prize-winning author Wole Soyinka and the French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron said that Sansal’s arbitrary detention and his concerning health situation must be addressed in order to restore confidence between the two countries.
Sansal has become an unwitting pawn in the strained relationship between Paris and Algiers, according to his supporters. The tensions between Algeria and France date back to Algeria’s struggle for independence in 1962. They hit a new low last year, when France supported Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara, a position opposed by Algeria, which backs the Polisario group’s fight for the territory’s independence.
Following the court ruling, Sansal’s lawyer appealed to Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to show humanity towards the writer. Sansal is known for his anti-Islamist views and has been an outspoken critic of the Algerian government. His detractors accuse him of favoring far-right ideologies.
Despite discrepancies in age, publishers Gallimard state that Sansal is 80 years old. His notable works include “2084”, a satirical novel about religious radicalism that won the French Academy’s Grand Prix of the Francophonie a decade ago. His upcoming novel, “Vivre”, set to be published in May, tells the story of a selected group of individuals chosen to colonize a new planet as Earth nears apocalypse.
Additional reporting by Marcus Erbe.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rk71lxv11o
